The invention relates to a feeding apparatus for transferring eggs from a pile of egg trays to an egg depositing position on a supply conveyor of an egg processing machine, comprising means for lifting the upper eggs containing tray from the pile and for lifting the eggs from said tray and moving the eggs to said egg depositing position and supplementary means for controlling the tray lifting operation in dependence on an orientation displaced 90.degree. of every other egg tray of the pile.
In a current apparatus of this type piles of egg trays are fed on a first linear conveyor to a transfer position. A first egg lifting device comprising a sucker for each egg and grappler arms for the egg tray proper lifts the upper egg tray from the pile and conveys it through a circular path in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first conveyor to a second linear conveyor that is parallel to the first conveyor. A second egg lifting device comprising a sucker for each egg lifts the eggs from the tray and conveys them through a circular path in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyors to the supply conveyor of an egg processing machine, while the egg tray proper is left on the second conveyor to be conveyed thereon to a collecting station for empty egg trays The control of the tray lifting operation in dependence on the orientation displaced 90.degree. of every other tray in the pile is effected by pivoting a lifting fork which in the transfer position lifts the pile of egg trays to the first egg lifting device in step with the trays being lifted from the pile which is thus becoming lower.
It is a disadvantage of the prior art apparatus that it makes use of two lifting devices, firstly because it is resource-demanding and, secondly, because each lifting of eggs involves the risk of cracking the eggs.
In an egg transfer device disclosed in published DE Patent Specification No. 26 49 394 for depiling egg trays fed on a first conveyor and transferring the egg trays to a second conveyor, use is made of a lifting device of the same type is the above described first egg lifting device. The lifting device of said reference is suspended in an arm pivotal about a vertical axis. The arm may further be raised or lowered above the conveyors. Every other lifted tray is pivoted 90.degree. in order to obtain a uniform orientation of the trays on the second conveyor.
The application of said apparatus likewise requires the use of a supplementary lifting device for lifting the eggs from the trays.